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☆ Gold hovers near 3-month low, set for biggest weekly drop since Feb
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Pure 1,000-gram gold bars produced by South Korea's LS-Nikko are stacked in a dealers room in Seoul on January 9, 2009. Gold hovered near a three month low on Friday and was set for its biggest weekly drop since February, as the dollar strengthened after U.S. Federal Reserve Chief Jerome Powell hinted about more interest rate hikes. Spot gold ticked up 0.2% to $1,916.39 per ounce by 0450 GMT but stayed close to a three-month low hit earlier in the session. "Gold has extended lower out of the range that it was occupying for a few weeks, suggesting there is more weakness ahead. Palladium ticked 0.1% higher to $1,285.00 after hitting its lowest since May 2019 in the previous session.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Ilya Spivak, Powell, Tim Waterer, Tastylive's Spivak Organizations: South Korea's, Nikko, U.S, Federal, KCM Trade Locations: Seoul, Powell, U.S

☆ Exclusive: LNG developer Venture Global spars with customers over cargoes
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Curtis Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Italian electric utility company, Edison SpA (EDNn.MI), in May brought an arbitration proceeding against Venture Global over its failure to supply cargoes, Edison's spokeswoman said. Venture Global described the complex at the time of its first cargo shipment last year as holding "the global record for the fastest large-scale greenfield LNG facility to ever be built." Edison and Repsol signed purchase contracts with Venture Global in 2017 and 2018, respectively. That volume irked contract customers who believe Venture Global took advantage of high spot LNG prices at their expense. In its reply to DOE, Venture Global chastised Repsol as an "impatient" customer.

Persons: Shaylyn Hynes, Hynes, Repsol, Portugal's, Edison, Venture Global's Hynes, Curtis Williams, Gary McWilliams, Paul Simao Organizations: HOUSTON, Venture Global LNG, U.S, LNG, Edison SpA, Venture Global, Repsol SA, U.S . Department of Energy, DOE, Venture, Reuters, Edison, Shell, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, General Electric Co, Thomson Locations: Calcasieu, Spanish, Arlington , Virginia, Cameron Parish , Louisiana, Europe, Russia, Ukraine

☆ Portugal moves closer to banning Chinese suppliers from 5G
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Sergio Goncalves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LISBON, May 26 (Reuters) - Portugal's cybersecurity council CSSC has issued a resolution that could formally bar telecom operators from using Chinese equipment in their high-speed 5G mobile networks as well 4G platforms on which the new technology is based. The CSSC is the prime minister's consultative body and its document, dated May 23, is another blow to efforts by Chinese technology giant Huawei (HWT.UL) to enter the 5G market in Portugal and possibly extend existing contracts. Portugal's existing 5G networks are not standalone and still largely based on 4G technology and equipment. Its opinion is based on an undisclosed report that evaluated the safety of equipment in public electronic communications networks involving 5G technology. Reporting by Sergio Goncalves Editing by Andrei Khalip and Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Gold ticks up as traders navigate U.S. debt limit hitch, Fed cues
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Pure 1,000-gram gold bars produced by South Korea's LS-Nikko are stacked in a dealers room in Seoul on January 9, 2009. Gold prices edged up on Monday as drawn-out discussions around the U.S. debt ceiling and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's less-hawkish comments added to the safe-haven bullion's appeal. Spot gold was up 0.1% at $1,978.06 per ounce as of 0347 GMT, while U.S. gold futures eased 0.1% to $1,979.40. Markets are now pricing in a 86.2% chance of the Fed standing pat on rates next month, the CME FedWatch tool showed. Spot silver fell 0.2% to $23.77 per ounce, platinum eased 0.1% to $1,061.68 and palladium dipped 0.3% to $1,508.54.

☆ Gold climbs on subdued dollar, U.S. data in spotlight
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Pure 1,000-gram gold bars produced by South Korea's LS-Nikko are stacked in a dealers room in Seoul on January 9, 2009. Gold prices rose on Thursday as a softer dollar rekindled some of bullion's appeal for overseas buyers, while investors braced for a host of U.S. economic data ahead of a crucial Federal Reserve policy meeting next week. Spot gold rose 0.48% to $1,999.01 per ounce by 448 GMT, while U.S. gold futures climbed 0.6% to $2,008.10. Safe-haven gold scaled an over one-year peak at $2,048.71 in mid-April, as the banking crisis unfolded and weak U.S. economic readings bolstered bets for a pause in interest rate hikes. Brian Lan, managing director at gold dealer GoldSilver Central in Singapore said, a lot is hinged on the Fed's interest rate decision in May, and gold could see more volatility due to the dollar.

☆ Jeronimo Martins' first-quarter profit jumps 59%, margin narrows
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Patricia Vicente Rua | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LISBON, April 26 (Reuters) - Portugal's second-largest retailer Jeronimo Martins (JMT.LS) on Wednesday posted a 59% jump in first-quarter net income as higher prices to offset soaring inflation boosted sales, though its margins narrowed. The company booked a net profit of 140 million euros ($154.71 million) between January and March. Consolidated sales in the first three months of the year rose 23.4% to 6.8 billion euros, driven by its Biedronka chain in Poland, where sales increased 26% to 4.8 billion euros. Consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew 20.1% to 446 million euros in the quarter. The company plans to invest around 1 billion euros this year, 45% of which in Poland where it wants to open between 130-150 stores and remodel about 350 stores.

☆ Portugal NOS' quarterly profit drops 15% as 5G capex ups amortisations
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Sergio Goncalves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LISBON, April 26 (Reuters) - Portuguese telecommunications firm NOS (NOS.LS) posted on Wednesday a 15% fall in first-quarter net profit as amortisation costs rose after strong investments to bring its fast-speed 5G network to almost everyone in Portugal. NOS, whose businesses include cable television and cinemas, made a net profit of 34.9 million euros ($38.55 million) between January and March. Consolidated revenue rose 2.2% to 381.4 million euros in the quarter from a year ago, of which 369.2 million euros were from its core telecommunications business. Its 5G network covered 88% of Portugal's population in March, said NOS, which a year ago was in the initial phases of the new technology roll-out. Operating costs rose 7% year-on-year to 869.9 million euros in the first quarter due to soaring inflation.

☆ Factbox: The biggest financial crises of the last four decades
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Fears of banking contagion remain, and investors are worried that global economies will suffer if the effects of higher interest rates torpedo more lenders. Michael Milken had helped popularize the financial instrument, with many using it as a way of funding leveraged buyouts. The country ended up getting external financial support from the International Monetary Fund and a $50 billion bailout from the United States. GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS OF 2008The biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression was rooted in risky loans to shaky borrowers, which started to lose value after central banks raised interest rates in the period leading up to the crisis. EUROPEAN DEBT CRISISSpurred by the 2008 financial crisis, surging debt at some of the major European economies led to a loss of confidence in the region's businesses.

☆ Gold gains as Fed hints at pause in rate hikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Pure 1,000-gram gold bars produced by South Korea's LS-Nikko are stacked in a dealers room in Seoul on January 9, 2009. Gold prices advanced on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve hinted it was nearing a pause in its rate-hike cycle, making the safe-haven asset a more attractive bet in a future low interest environment. Spot gold was up 0.4% at $1,976.98 per ounce, as of 0406 GMT. Traditionally considered a hedge against inflation and economic uncertainties, gold prices jumped 2% on Wednesday after the Fed raised interest rates by an expected 25 basis points, and indicated it might pause further increases after the recent collapse of two U.S. banks. Spot silver slipped 0.4% to $22.94 per ounce, platinum added 1.1% at $988.61, while palladium lost 0.5% to $1,443.57.

☆ Premarket stocks: What comes next in the banking crisis? The early 1990s hold clues
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

This isn’t 2008: There are some key differences between today’s banking saga and what happened in 2008. This time around the US federal government stepped in early to guarantee all customer deposits and restore confidence in the US banking system. Here comes CPIFormer banking regulators, economists and Wall Street analysts are increasingly calling for the Federal Reserve to pause its inflation-fighting interest rate hikes because of the current banking sector chaos. Last Wednesday, investors were putting 70% odds of a half-point interest rate hike at the Federal Reserve policy meeting next week, according to the CME FedWatch tool. Analysts expect the inflation rate to come in at 6% year-over-year (down from 6.4% in January) and at 0.4% month-over-month (down from 0.5% in January).

☆ Canadian 'super pigs' set to spread disease and damage the environment in the US, expert warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The expert called for a campaign to cut down the size of the feral pig population. These pigs are a cross between wild boars and domestic pigs, and were bred in Canada in the 1980s to diversify agriculture. The size and intelligence of the Canadian pigs has helped them survive the tough Canadian winters, and they can burrow tunnel ls into the snow, evading predators and freezing conditions, according to report. An expert told Fox News that the pigs can carry diseases transferable to humans, such as E. coli and hepatitis, and can devastate the environment. Brook called for a campaign to cut down the size of the Canadian pig population before they cause damage in the US.

After a dearth of plant approvals last decade, developers have secured dozens of long-term contracts to finance new multibillion-dollar LNG plants. The United States was long an importer of LNG, but natural gas discoveries and production from the shale revolution flipped the country into an LNG exporter in 2016. U.S. LNG exports hit 10.6 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in 2022, making the country the second biggest LNG exporter behind Australia. But their production volumes will allow the United States to remain ahead of output from Australia and Qatar. The seven U.S. export plants already in service, including Freeport LNG, can turn about 13.8 billion cubic feet of gas into LNG each day.

☆ Portugal's Galp posts record profit in 2022 on soaring oil prices, wider refining margins
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Galp Energia SGPS SA FollowLISBON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Portuguese oil and gas company Galp Energia (GALP.LS) on Monday reported a record adjusted net profit for 2022, due to soaring oil prices and wider refining margins in the fourth quarter. Galp said its adjusted profit almost doubled to 881 million euros ($940.03 million), surpassing the previous record of 707 million euros set in 2018. Its fourth-quarter bottom line more than doubled to 273 million euros, compared with 130 million euros a year earlier. The average forecast of 20 analysts polled by the company was 225 million euros. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 48% to 951 million euros in the fourth quarter, in line with the average forecast.

☆ Gold ticks up as dollar slips ahead of Fed meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Pure 1,000-gram gold bars produced by South Korea's LS-Nikko are stacked in a dealers room in Seoul on January 9, 2009. Gold prices inched higher on Monday as the U.S. dollar eased, while market participants globally awaited a slew of central bank meetings with the main focus on the Federal Reserve. Spot gold rose 0.3% to $1,932.84 per ounce, as of 0457 GMT. The European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of England (BoE) are also having policy meetings this week. Spot silver gained 0.6% to $23.70 per ounce, platinum rose 0.6% to $1,017.69, and palladium climbed 1.7% to $1,646.41.

Like most European countries, Portugal is accelerating its shift to renewables to reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels whose prices have surged since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He expected Europe's accelerating push for renewable energies to help streamline the licensing of hybrid projects and shorten their implementation times from up to six years now. It is already building four other parks in Iberia and plans to bring online 1.6 GW of hybrid capacity there this decade. EDPR has an installed capacity of 3.4 GW in Iberia alone and 14.3 GW globally. Reporting by Sergio Goncalves and Miguel Pereira, editing by Andrei Khalip and David EvansOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ EDPR to take legal action over Romania and Poland energy taxes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies EDP Renovaveis SA FollowMADRID, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Portuguese renewable energy provider EDP Renovaveis (EDPR.LS), said on Monday it will take legal action against newly created taxes on energy in Poland and Romania. Like other European Union countries, Romania and Poland have recently introduced emergency measures to claw back revenue from utilities to help consumers facing soaring energy prices. EDP Renovaveis said in a statement it believes the measures in both countries do not follow the European Union principle of clawing back only realised market revenue. It said the measures do not take into account price hedging and thus would tax profits which companies such as EDP Renovaveis did not actually make. EDP Renovaveis operates renewable power plants with a capacity of 697 megawatts (MW) in Poland and 521 megawatts (MW) in Romania.

☆ Portugal approves windfall tax on energy firms, food retailers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Sergio Goncalves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LISBON, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Portugal's parliament on Tuesday approved a 33% tax on the windfall profits that energy companies and food retailers may be bringing in with inflation at a near three-decade high. Tax affairs chief at the Finance Ministry, Nuno Felix, said the new "exceptional and strictly temporary" tax was in line with that approved by the European Union for the energy sector. In Portugal, this tax targets the excess profits of companies operating in the crude oil, natural gas, coal and refinery sectors, but also those of food retailers. In Portugal, the standard rate on corporate profits is 21%. Portugal's second-largest retailer Jeronimo Martins (JMT.LS) posted a 29% rise in January-September net profit, as soaring inflation drove sales figures higher.

LISBON, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Portugal wants to speed up investments in green hydrogen projects, which are essential to decarbonize the economy, and will end mandatory environmental assessments for them in March 2023, Prime Minister Antonio Costa said. Portugal expects to become a major producer and exporter of green hydrogen with 70 private investors or groups planning to spend 10 billion euros ($10.51 billion). Environmentalists have criticized the so-called Simplex package as it may have impacts on nature and the well-being of populations. Portugal's largest utility EDP (EDP.LS) and oil and gas company Galp Energia (GALP.LS) are both planning to build green hydrogen plants in the industrial hub of Sines. The three main glass producers and two biggest cement makers, together accounting for 10% of the country's industrial carbon emissions, also joined a new consortium to launch a green hydrogen plant.

☆ European energy firms dominate landmark California offshore wind auction
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Nichola Groom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The auction began on Tuesday and ended Wednesday, the offshore wind industry's first chance to snag leases in waters off the U.S. West Coast. "Today’s lease sale is further proof that industry momentum -- including for floating offshore wind development -- is undeniable," U.S. Winners of the five leases were mainly divisions of European energy companies already developing projects in the U.S. offshore wind market. "The macroeconomic environment has hardened significantly over the last six to 12 months," said Alon Carmel, a partner at consultancy PA Consulting who advises offshore wind companies. About 100 megawatts of floating wind capacity is currently installed in the world compared with 50 gigawatts (GW) for conventional offshore wind.

☆ European energy firms capture most leases in California offshore wind auction
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Nichola Groom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 7 (Reuters) - The Biden administration's sale of offshore wind development rights off the coast of California drew $757.1 million in high bids, mainly from European developers seeking a foothold in the domestic industry's expansion to the Pacific Ocean. Winners of the five leases were primarily divisions of European energy companies that are already developing projects in the U.S. offshore wind market. The winners included Norway's Equinor ASA (EQNR.OL), Denmark's Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Germany's RWE AG (RWEG.DE), Ocean Winds, which is a joint venture between France's Engie (ENGIE.PA) and Portugal's EDP Renewables (EDPR.LS), and U.S. developer Invenergy LLC. The auction, which began on Tuesday and stretched into Wednesday, is part of the administration's plan to put wind turbines along every U.S. coastline to tackle climate change and create jobs. Reporting by Nichola Groom; Editing by Alexander Smith, Aurora Ellis and Nick ZieminskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

LISBON, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Further consolidation of Portugal's banking sector is inevitable, European Central Bank member Mario Centeno told Reuters on Wednesday, calling "remarkable" the recent progress the country's banks have made on strengthening capital and reducing risk. Analysts have said that Portuguese banks should bet on M&A operations to achieve better competitive conditions, despite the five largest players' owning 80% to 85% of banking assets. Portugal's banks are still scarred from a debt crisis and a spike in NPLs after the 2010-13 recession. The NPL ratio for Portugal's lenders was 3.4% of total credit in June, versus 17.9% in mid-2016. "Although I am very satisfied with the evolution...there is no point in resting, we have to challenge ourselves," Centeno said.

The chip is called the Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC and was developed by Xilinx, which was acquired by AMD this year. This will allow automakers to update not only software, but also the chip, after the car is sold, Rehan Tahir, AMD’s senior product marketing manager for automotive told Reuters. Tahir said the Aisin auto parking system will start production on 2024 models, but declined to say which car brands would use it. Tahir said the Aisin system works with four cameras and 12 ultrasonic sensors on the car to parallel park and also back into parking spaces. But the human in the car will have to decide if that spot is in a no-parking zone, he said.

☆ Trolls are already abusing Elon Musk's new Twitter verification system, impersonating everyone from George Bush to O.J. Simpson
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Twitter's new verification system is already being abused by trolls impersonating public figures. Neither Bush nor Blair have personal Twitter accounts, but are verified through their foundations. Other examples of fake but verified accounts causing trouble soon after the new verification system came in included a user pretending to be O.J. "I'm ngl I did that shit," the verified account "ThaReal0J32" tweeted, attracting over 55,000 likes before it was deleted. The fake Bush account also responded to tweets about fake verified accounts saying: "Jed [Bush's younger brother] is smarter than Elon."

☆ Portugal's Millennium bcp 9-month profit jumps 63%, strong core income
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Sergio Goncalves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The lender netted 97.2 million euros ($96.1 million) between January and September, up from 59.5 million euros a year earlier. Profit in its domestic business more than doubled to 295.7 million euros. Its half-owned Polish subsidiary, Bank Millennium (MILP.WA), last week reported a nine-month loss of 270.5 million euros as it counted the cost of loan repayment holidays imposed on Polish banks in July. Millennium bcp's consolidated net interest income, or earnings on loans minus deposit costs, rose 32.7% to 1.54 billion euros in the nine months. Its fees and commissions grew 3.7% to 573.8 million euros.

☆ Spanish fast car charger startup Zunder reaches 400 mln euro valuation
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MADRID, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Zunder, a startup setting up and operating ultra-fast chargers for electric cars, reached a valuation of 400 million euros ($388.40 million) after its latest funding round, shareholder White Summit Capital said on Tuesday. Mirova, a fund manager associated to French bank Natixis, poured 100 million euros into Zunder in exchange for a 25% stake, White Summit's managing partner Pablo Pallas told Reuters on Tuesday. White Summit and other co-investors retain the control of Zunder. The company intends to invest 300 million euros by 2025 and expects to raise 100 million euros from bank financing and 100 million euros from EU rescue funds through grants from the Spanish government. ($1 = 1.0299 euros)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Inti Landauro, editing by David LatonaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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